The Ocean

We watch the beauty of the ocean
along the shore
As the waves, in different forms
has us longing for more

The breeze carries the refreshing
smells and taste
As we sit, lie, or play
and do things with little haste

We stand knee deep, awaiting
the waves slap on the back
We dare her to tumble us
on her next attack

The waters are enhanced
by the sun and sand
that seem to say
"When it's all together, it is simply grand"

However, the beauty of the ocean
quite often disappears
As we have come to see time and again
throughtout the years

The turmoil that breathes below
we cannot forsee
Lies hidden to our eyes
beneath her sea

But when provoked
her evil powers unleashed
Erupts to her surface
screaming, to make its deadly speach

Great ships have zigged and zagged
across her haunting face
To disappear from view, forever
without a trace

So, admire the ocean
from views along the shore
But beware of her
or you may be nomore

S tand By Me

STAND BY ME

I dare you to stand by me

I dare you to do what is right

Our country needs Our help

Before the darkness of night

I dare you to think for yourself

I dare you to take a chance

Politicians stop thinking defeat

As this country was built on advance

I dare them to forget about party

I dare them to join together as one

Let’s take politics out of the way

Let’s correct what is morally wrong

I dare you to pray to your God

I dare you let others do the same

This world of ours grows smaller

If it disintegrates we can all share the blame

I dare you to talk out about “Terrorism”

I dare you to recognize this wrong

We will have no harmony in our world

Until “Terrorism” is gone

I dare you to stand by me

I dare you to do what is right

Michael Christopher Daly

LETTERAGH LODGE

I awoke in another time,
another world, refreshed with serenity
No mad rush to arise
the mind, eager to let things be

Whisperings like a balmy breeze
without force, made me lay there
Soothing thoughts about everything good
came with every breath of air

Surely, this was Heaven, yet I knew it could not be
A pinch on the arm and back to reality
So, I just lay on my back
and gazed out at the magic scene

Strange enough, no bird sounds
could be heard or seen
The trees gave way to soft winds
bending a little, as if to bow in respect

The fields outside seemed to have no end
until the horizon, shimmered in the morn
The sky gave little indication of the day ahead
It peaked the imagination to smile or scorn

From outside, I looked at this house of stone
The strength of the owners had made this home

On Letteragh Road, near Galway Bay
is the sight the eyes cannot dodge
At the rise of the hill, it stands quite still
the house called "Letteragh Lodge"

I awoke in another time, another world
so close, so near to Heaven

Michael Christopher Daly
Aug. 5th, 1999

"Now That I'm Back"

I guess I drifted away one day, when things were looking bad

Didn’t want to face the truth because it was so sad
Just didn’t like being poor,existing day to day
I knew I could do much better, So I upped and went away

My thoughts while crossing the ocean were all about you, my dear
As the Devil played tricks with my mind and loaded me down with fear
Your decision to stay behind was strong and yours to make
So we promised with broken hearts, our love when asleep or awake

I told you I’d come back one day, you said that you would wait
With a welcome mat outside your door and a shamrock on the gate
My mind was set on business everything else was put on hold
They called me a workaholic,while my pockets filled with gold

The years slipped by like minutes, I have wealth and love to share
Retired last week, took this flight last night to show how much I care
I stand o’er your grave, eyes in tears listening to a lonely song

As the agony of time wasted away
“Now That I’m Back,” “You Are Gone”

Michael Christopher Daly…..Oct.30^th, 2006

Drawn Back

I walk the streets where we played in bare feet
echo's of childhood, with the sun giving heat
I wonder if the pavement, can tell it is me
If so,doe's it remember my happy memory

I walk the streets, holding back a tear
My head bowed down, somewhat in fear
Is the house still there, where I was born?
Is it now a factory, filled with corn?

I walk the streets and around each bend
Recognizing houses of many an old friend
Twenty one years, where I started each day
'Mid a dear, dear family, until I went away

Suddenly that street, the house still there
Not a soul around but somethings in the air
It seems I hear voices, so familiar to me
Eyes seeing pictures, filled with happiness and glee

I didn't knock, or ring the bell on that door
As our family just, wasn't there anymore

Jan19th, 2007

"AH" , Mushrooms"

It was morning, the fields would be covered with dew

Six O’clock no less, I could only find one shoe

I was dazed, body in tune with my head

As I sat there, legs dangling over the bed


We agreed to meet at this Godly hour, it’s true

Here I was looking around for that fecken lost shoe

Cyril was knocking outside, that was a terrible blunder

Because at this bewitching hour, it sounded more like thunder


Looking down from my window I whispered ”SHUSH”

“Don’t knock again”and “What’s the big rush”

“Be down in a minute, I’m just getting out of the bed”

must not forget the pillowcase , it’s under my brothers head


I tiptoed back from the window to get that pillowcase

There it was nestled , under my brothers face

To wake him now would make matters worse

The shoe is still missing and I’m about to curse


Just then the Bolster came into view

On the floor near the dresser; surely that will do

Get rid of the feathers, turn it inside out

To fill it with mushrooms, that’s what its all about


Out in the hallway I opened the string

No feathers at all, were in this old thing

Old jackets , an overcoat with buttons too

And there in a shirt is my other old shoe


So down the stairs and through the front door

Setting our sights on the Shannon's shore

Up Lelia place, past “Farrell’s Sweet Shop”

Beyond O'Neill’s yard, with nary a stop


The Barrel Yard quiet, too early for work

My brothers had sold the feathers to Feathery Burke

I’m quite sure now, Mom and Dad didn’t know

Their sons found a way, to make some extra dough


Beyond the Nuns Field lay, Mick Madden’s thatched home

Further up a race track, where grey hounds did roam

At the Canal banks end, the Shannon River

Where many’s the salmon made the waters quiver


At last to the fields where the mushrooms grew

With the empty bolster that had hidden my shoe

It took three hours to fill it and we walked a long way

But we’d have mushrooms at breakfast for many a day


To end a great morning, we went for a swim

At the second bridge we just dove right in

The mushrooms we hid’ beneath straw in the field

Sure no one would know what the straw could yield


We dried off in the sun, it didn’t take long

Then saw the tossed straw, the mushrooms were gone

We did not cry, but we had broken hearts

And we wished that whoever ate them


Would turn into “Sheep Farts”


Michael Christopher Daly

Dec . 13, 2002


--
Posted By mikora to Limrikster at 1/03/2008 10:46:00 AM
Reply

Forward

The Meeting

To Nora, my lifelong love..

If you and I had never met
the loss would all be mine
Imagine arriving at heavens gate
and the doorbell had no chime
The darkest days of winter
would always be the same
If we hadn't met, and we didn't talk
and I never knew your name
But the event occurred we were introduced
my eyes were locked on you
When our hands touched to say "Hello"
I gave my heart too
I was yours back then and I always knew
that the future was hard to tell
So after all the years, of laughter and tears
I'm still enraptured by your spell

It is "I"

There came a knock upon my door
At least that was the sound
Without thinking who it could be
I opened it, then looked around

There wasn’t a soul that I could see
As the moon lit up the sky
I felt a breeze that kissed my face
Then a “Whisper” “It is I”, “It is I “

I took a step outside the door
My blood now pumping fast
The whispers getting stronger
Are we together again? at last

All the sadness of your passing
Returned to my mind and eye
Then the breeze kissed my lips
Whispering, “It is I”, “It is I”

The breeze caressed my face again
Then it circled around my hand
Seeming to touch the fingers
That held our wedding bands

I understood the meaning
I no longer had a need to cry
As the love of my life whispers
“It is I”, “It is I”, “It is I”.

Empty Things

Empty Things

I wrote in an empty diary
Of the love I had for you
Each day since you’ve been gone
A page begins anew

I open the diary at bedtime
To review what I have written
Because when I first met you
One look and I was smitten

I thought that I was set for life
At the altar when you said “I DO”
I put your name on my bankbook
When we shared our love so true

But when the love was all from me
I began to realize
The bonds of marriage were broken
As I could see it in your eyes

Now that you are not coming back
I’m feeling kind of glad
It is you who took me for a fool
And that is mighty sad

Fools Gold

Don't tell me if you see her
for I don't want to know
things are piling up
because of that "So and So"

It took only one week
but it really felt much more
and the time we spent together
could never be called a bore

My eyes were locked on her
the very first time we met
she seemed to be beckoning me
to come over and be intimate

I turned away for a moment
trying to hide what was on my mind
wanting to go sit beside her
a little leery of what I might find

She knew I had something to give her
I felt that she could give me much more
so I went and sat beside her
until the a.m. when the clock said four

Our passion had lasted that long
and the rest of the week was the same
on the final day of my stay
I discovered she was playing a game

There was another guy sitting beside her
who appeared to be lost in a dream
I didn't have the heart to tell him
to beware of this slot machine.

The Little People

I drove out into the country as far as I could go
just needed to be alone let my mind flow
No more voices, no delegating, no orders
Just the sound of the winds breaking over the borders
A field with no gate, least not to the eye
With haystacks all over ‘neath a clear blue sky

What is the future? What’s in store for me?
Have I lost you forever? Are you thinking of me?
I leaned on a haystack and it began to slide
Then a hole appeared and down I did glide
I shouted aloud to anyone for help
As I landed in a heap on a floor of kelp

I got up in fear but there wasn’t a sound
It was lit by lanterns built into the ground
I followed the lanterns to a cast iron door
It opened to a fog; my fears grew more
I didn’t move but floated in
to see a little old man with a mischievous grin

Then six others came out from the walls
And sat with the old one in tiny stalls
Clothed in green from head to foot
With great white beards that were never cut
They just stared at me and I stared back
Wondering to myself if they were going to attack

Suddenly I realized we were surrounded by trees
I was no longer standing, I was on my knees
A high pitched voice and the smell of Poteen
“Do ya know why yar here? And what have ya seen?"
“No, I fell in a hole through a haystack up there”
“I was blinded , you see from the suns bright glare”

“Yar here today ‘cause an American Colleen
Requested it so, my dear Mickeleen
She loves you so much her prayers got to us
Now listen up well without any fuss
Write to her often you’ll be there in two years
Love her for life, wipe away all her tears

We will see that you get there, no more than that.

The Three Thirty Train

I was walking slowly
On a Street called Main
Thoughts on my mind
About the Three Thirty Train
Should I go down there?
Can’t make up my mind
Just walking slowly
Wondering what I might find

It is quite some time
Since you walked out on me
Now, you make contact
But I’ve forgotten you see
I’m still on Main Street
Walking slowly along
Remembering your face
And remembering our song

I must admit, I still feel lost
Why is that so?
As you left without a word
And I never did know
Why are you coming back?
On that Three Thirty Train?
The same one you left from
On that street called Main

I’m no longer a young man
I still live all alone
But you will be welcome
In the place I call home
I am now striding along
That street called Main
No longer afraid of
That Three Thirty Train

Michael Christopher Daly, Oct. 17th, 2007

The Bully

I tried to show that I wasn’t scared
Though my knees were ready to give in
I took a stance that indicated strength
With hands ready and aimed at his chin
But his eyes, were locked on Mine
And I just couldn’t stare him back
I knew the trouble I was in
When he roared to begin his attack

How could I have gotten into this mess?
Now he is beginning to hiss
Maybe I could save the day
If I hug him and give him a kiss
My fear made me attack first
And he wasn’t ready for that
As I landed a punch on his nose
And he screamed like a stepped on cat

He looked up at me from the ground
His hands covering his face
The blood seeped through his fingers
As the crowd circled our space
He staggered a little, while getting up
Then stood on the tips of his toes
Took away his hands from his bloody face
Showing everyone his broken nose

A ghostly moan could be heard by all
As he sat back down on the ground
He cried aloud to the departing crowd
Who had more sympathy for a passing hound?
He was all alone as he passed me by
Going home to a fatherless home
I caught up to him and we talked a while
I didn’t want him to be all alone
We met many times after that day
The title “Bully”, was no longer his name
We got on with our lives, in different styles
I recalled this from my Memory Lane

Michael Christopher Daly
Nov.25th, 2007

Richmond Rugby and Nicknames

Richmond Rugby
And
Nick Names


It was Richmond Rugby , up the Canal Bank
Where we gathered together, all in a rank
This was the field, where they tested your mettle
To get a place on the team and to check your fettle

It was here, where all the old stories were told
As Nick Names grew, and began their hold
There was Langer, and Auchnie, Bunty and Buller
With ,Goadie, Beefy, Wedger , and Dobber


Pudden, The Hawk, Maul and Maggett
Bullock, Gagga, Boxer and Blackie
With Spa and Bunkers, Jobber and Jogger
Maugwaw, little maugwaw,Connie Apples and Whacker

There were so many others, that I cannot remember
Who were at that field , on each September
To try out for the team, or give their support
To Richmond Rugby, their favorite Sport

Where are they now, ? You may friendly ask
That well may be, a saddening task
Many to America, where they became a Yank
But they never forget Richmond, Or the Canal Bank


Michael Christopher Daly
(Ducker)
Feb.12, 2006

My Pictures

My Pictures

I gaze at pictures on my wall
Place d there for all to see
I watch them each and every day
All with a separate memory

They seem to move and come alive
Without any exaggeration
So I’m all intense, but I join in
With my creative imagination

Some are old in black and white
Very sharp on detail
Others of color that sometimes fade
Needing touching up to email

Each picture tells a tale
And relates it to ones mind
Time stood still for a moment
Captured for all mankind

It is so relaxing to sit here
And going back in time
With the help of all the pictures
I just become sublime

As friends drop in to say “Hello”
With their coats hung in the hall
The conversation stops, in awe
Of my pictures on the wall.

Michael Christopher Daly
Dec.23rd,2006

Distance

“DISTANCE”

From there to here can be short or long
It’s a measurement , you see
For some people it must be exact
But it’s all the same to me

Distance is measured in many ways
And done in different styles
In America, it’s the time it takes
In Europe, it’s the miles

But no matter how we travel
By Land, or Sea or Air
The distance is the same, you see
From here to over there

So now consider the weather conditions
The wind, the rain and snow
And time becomes a problem
Depending which way you go

If the wind is blowing from here to there
And you’re coming from there to here
You know that you would be better off
If the wind was at your rear

But, if the wind is with you
And you’re going from here to there
You will travel the same amount of miles
But you will have some time to spare

Michael Christopher Daly
10/03/96

Excuses

“EXCUSES”


T’WAS A RAINY AULD DAY
WITH THE WIND ACTING UP
T’WAS GOOD FOR NOTHING
EXCEPT TAKING A SUP

NO LIGHT IN THE SKY
JUST THAT COLD LOOKING GREY
SURE, YOU COULDN’T CUT TURF
OR BRING IN THE HAY

THE GOLF COURSE TOO SOGGY
AND WHO WOULD BOTHER PLAYING TENNIS
“SURE, T’IS A GREAT AULD DAY LADS”
“TO KNOCK DOWN A FEW GUINESS”

“BUT WHAT ABOUT EXERCISE”
‘CAUSE THAT STUFF FILLSYOU UP”
“WE’LL WORRY ABOUT THAT LATER’
WHEN THE WEATHER LETS UP

Michael Christopher Daly
5/21/94

The Message 9/11 Part Three

“THE MESSAGE 9/11 PART THREE

I can see the smoke
And the waste that’s left
I can hear the forklifts
Screeching in the depths

I can see the rubble
Being carried away
I can see, and hear this
Every single day

But there is something else
That I cannot see
As my eyes reach the river
Heading out to sea

I cannot touch it
But I can feel it there
It sways back and forth
Up and down in the air

As I move away
It surrounds my being
As if to communicate
Without ever seeing

It does not scare me
I’m beginning to understand
They are aware of our grief
All over this land

The Message they’re sending
Is directed to us all
“THAT LIFE”, MUST GO ON
AND FOR US TO STAND TALL.

Michael Christopher Daly 10/30/2001

The Aftermath 9/11 Part Two

‘THE AFTERMATH 9/11 PART TWO

Shattered dreams, against battered walls
And foundations swaying too
The problems that were huge to us
Don’t matter now, are few

Our way of life, our magnificent freedom
Has been tested to the core
And the shock waves are continuing
As the body count just soar

How many funerals can one attend
Before the tears are gone
How much sorrow must we bear
Before we right this wrong

We feel the pain and the misery
As if struck by the lightening rod
We question our very own beliefs
“OH, WHERE ON EARTH IS GOD”?

When everything is running smooth
We hardly ever turn to him
When there is an illness in the family
We place our call of help to him

When sudden death takes a loved one
We get angry with him
And when total tragedy strikes
We begin to disbelieve in him

This Tragedy is not of “God’s” doing
It is of and by the will of man
When Hate takes over his very soul
As only Hate can

So let’s bring justice to this act
And it must be our decision
To put an end to all of this
And an end to ‘TERRORISM”


Michael Christopher Daly 10/06/2001

"Terrorism", 9/11 Part One

“TERRORISM”,9/11 PART ONE

Mouth open, Eyes focused, Heart pounding
How can this be true?
My television has gone plain crazy
With the most unrealistic view

Plumes of smoke are billowing
From the top of the North Twin Tower
As a plane, aimed directly at the building
Hits, Explodes, In Fire, Debris and Shower

Then another plane is in sight
“Now , wait a sec”, Where is it going”
To the Second Tower, going faster
With no attempt at slowing

“MY GOD”, It hits the South Tower
and the flames shoot out and in
In Religion, there’s a name for this
As it is the greatest sin

There is no denying Terrorism
Especially in this case
Their leader is well known to us
With his Satanic Bearded Face

We can’t say “GOD FORGIVE THEM”
FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO”
They knew “Damned Well” the outcome
And they celebrated it too

“Terrorism’s” easy to carry out
When it’s the only goal in life
When every fiber in one’s being
Is Hell Bent to Cause Such Strife

What kind of religious fanatics are they
Who are driven only by Hate
“WELL IT’S TIME NOW, AMERICA”
“WE MUST HELP THEM MEET THEIR FATE”

Michael Christopher Daly 9/11/2001